<Begin Segment 11>

TI: So I'm going to jump ahead a little bit, because I want to get to Manzanar. So can you describe... or at some point, did your family ever consider, there was a time period when families were allowed to voluntarily leave the area?

SM: Uh-huh. Well, see, when we evacuated Terminal Island, all the people were scattered all over southern California. We were in Buena Park, others went to L.A., different areas. And if we stayed there until the time that they interned us, we would have all been scattered all over the place. But, well, when they were building Manzanar, they had all the Terminal Island people volunteer that wanted to go to Manzanar as a group.

TI: And this was to go early to help set up Manzanar?

SM: No, no, no, not...

TI: Oh, but just to go as a group to Manzanar.

SM: Yeah, uh-huh. The real early group that went was the, they were mostly bachelors that went to Manzanar in their old jalopies and whatnot. And they kind of helped set up the camp.

TI: But in your case, so the Terminal Island people are scattered throughout southern California. How did the word get out to all the Terminal Island people that they can go together as a group?

SM: I don't know how they...

TI: Do you remember... well, how did you find out that the Terminal Island people were able to...

SM: God, I don't know. Through phone or whatever.

TI: So somehow the word got out, and people had this, kind of, network, communication network to just let each other know?

SM: So I would say most of the people volunteered to go, and they all came to L.A. by the railroad siding someplace here, it was, I don't remember exactly where it was. But we got on the train and went to Lone Pine.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.